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Second and Fourth Thursday July-December 2021
Welcome to Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer: a study co-facilitated by Jenny Hunt and Andy Townsend
The author is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation who holds a PHD degree in Botany. She weaves her scientific and Native American knowledge and wisdom with her observations and intuitions into a beautiful poetic story of hope and sustainability.
Our study will give insight into Native American ways and will offer an alternative way of thought and living that embraces the interconnection of all life on Planet Earth. It will show that the Indigenous people have survived and that much of their culture continues to serve them. It offers us an opportunity to view our relationship to all of Earth’s inhabitants in a more respectful and sustainable way.
This will be the third episode of UUCUC’s trilogy of Native American studies. Participants are not required to have attended previous classes. This one is rich just as it is!
We began with An Indigenous People’s History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. This book detailed how European colonization and the conquest of North America destroyed the lives and cultures of Native peoples and established the political policies that still discriminate against Native Americans today.
The second book was 1491 by Charles C. Mann. which investigated the world of the Native people of the Americas and gave a glimpse into their accomplishments and glory before the European invasion. It highlighted many of the great achievements of the Indigenous people that are often ignored, plagiarized and assimilated by the Europeans.
Both of these books gave a harsh graphic look at the attempted elimination, subjugation, destruction and elimination of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. Braiding Sweetgrass brings a welcome breath of gentle hope. All are welcome to attend this new class. No prerequisites required.
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The schedule is as follows:
As you will notice the first and last session are scheduled for 2 hours while the rest will be 1 1/2 hours. This is so that we have time for the intro and group gathering and then the follow up after the last chapters.
July 8 – 7-9pm Planting Sweetgrass – Chapters 1-3
July 22 – 7:00-8:30 Chapters 4-6
August 12 – 7- 8:30 Tending Sweetgrass – Chapters 7-9
August 26 – 7-8:30 Chapters 10 & 11
September 9 – 7-8:30 Picking Sweetgrass – Chapters 12-14
September 23 – 7-8:30 Chapters 15-17
October 14 – 7-8:30 Braiding Sweetgrass – Chapters 18-21
October 28 – 7-8:30 Chapters 22-25
November 11 – 7-8:30 Burning Sweetgrass – Chapters 26-28
No class November 25 – Thanksgiving
December 9 – 7:00-9:00 Chapters 29-31
Epilogue – Returning the Gift